Accepting One’s Culture in Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks”
In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, the author captures the universal embarrassment teenagers feel introducing someone they care for to their family. In her retelling of the meal her family spent with her crush and his family, Tan initially responds with deep shame for her family’s behavior but she later learns to appreciate her unique cultural identity. Tan uses grotesque imagery, crude diction, and a commonplace symbol to convey how even if you outwardly conform with the culture-at-large, you must inwardly be proud of what makes you unique.
To convey her initial sense of mortification, Tan uses entirely unappetizing imagery in her description of her mother’s home-cooked holiday meal. The dinner served to her crush’s family is highlighted by “slimy rock cod with bulging eyes that pleaded not to be thrown into a pan of hot oil” (Amy Tan 3). Although it is assumed that this is a traditional meal in her home Tan’s use of imagery reflects the disgust she now feels for her mother’s dinner as she describes its unappetizing texture and appearance. She continues the nauseating descriptions by describing the tofu as “stacked wedges of rubbery white sponges” (3). The tactile experience of …show more content…
Tan describes her father’s customary response to a delicious meal as he “belched loudly” (Tan, 6). In the name of honoring their host’s tradition, the minister “managed to muster up a quiet burp” (6). The actions are the same, but Tan’s use of the more dramatic verb in her father’s behavior in contrast to the subdued reaction of the minister, not only highlights the differences in their culture, it also expresses the shame she feels from his vulgar act Tan intentionally magnifies the action to represent the discomfort felt when her Chinese culture clashes with the American culture of the minister’s
In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, the author captures the universal embarrassment teenagers feel introducing someone they care for to their family. In her retelling of the meal her family spent with her crush and his family, Tan initially responds with deep shame for her family’s behavior but she later learns to appreciate her unique cultural identity. Tan uses grotesque imagery, crude diction, and a commonplace symbol to convey how even if you outwardly conform with the culture-at-large, you must inwardly be proud of what makes you unique.
To convey her initial sense of mortification, Tan uses entirely unappetizing imagery in her description of her mother’s home-cooked holiday meal. The dinner served to her crush’s family is highlighted by “slimy rock cod with bulging eyes that pleaded not to be thrown into a pan of hot oil” (Amy Tan 3). Although it is assumed that this is a traditional meal in her home Tan’s use of imagery reflects the disgust she now feels for her mother’s dinner as she describes its unappetizing texture and appearance. She continues the nauseating descriptions by describing the tofu as “stacked wedges of rubbery white sponges” (3). The tactile experience of …show more content…
Tan describes her father’s customary response to a delicious meal as he “belched loudly” (Tan, 6). In the name of honoring their host’s tradition, the minister “managed to muster up a quiet burp” (6). The actions are the same, but Tan’s use of the more dramatic verb in her father’s behavior in contrast to the subdued reaction of the minister, not only highlights the differences in their culture, it also expresses the shame she feels from his vulgar act Tan intentionally magnifies the action to represent the discomfort felt when her Chinese culture clashes with the American culture of the minister’s